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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23425297">the kids don't wanna come home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanjichris/pseuds/kanjichris'>kanjichris</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>space adventures in babysitting [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Babysitting, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Grandpa Anakin, Grandparents &amp; Grandchildren, Kid Fic, Skywalker Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:33:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,220</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23425297</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanjichris/pseuds/kanjichris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Whenever his children and their friends had any meetings or dinner parties to attend, Anakin was put on babysitting duty. Today, Rey had asked if she could invite along her best friends with eyes so wide, Anakin could never refuse.</p><p>(or an AU in which Anakin doesn't become Vader and instead, leaves the Jedi Order, raises Luke and Leia, then grows old and becomes a Cool Grandpa.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anakin Skywalker &amp; Luke Skywalker, Finn &amp; Anakin Skywalker, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Poe Dameron &amp; Anakin Skywalker, Poe Dameron &amp; Finn &amp; Rey, Rey &amp; Anakin Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>space adventures in babysitting [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686013</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the kids don't wanna come home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Somewhat of a fix-it au that's really just a cover up for me really wanting to write Grandadakin taking care of the sequel trio okay? (+ Some other changes are made to canon such as the trio’s age differences, some familial connections, etc.)</p><p>Title comes from the Declan McKenna song of the same name.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Uncle Ani, look what we made!” screamed Anakin’s six year old niece from the next room.</p><p>“Just one moment, Rey!” Anakin shouted back, stirring the large pot once more before turning off the stove. He quickly wiped his hands on a towel then entered the noisy living room where Rey and her two friends were making adjustments to their playset recreation of the forest moon of Endor.</p><p>“That’s not where the X-wing should go,” Poe scolded Rey, who was in the middle of placing a toy X-wing on the roof of an Ewok tree house.</p><p>“Whadaya mean? I like it there!”</p><p>“My mami pilots an X-wing,” the older boy told her, moving the toy as he spoke, “and I know she would leave it in this grass field instead. See? Here.”</p><p>Rey picked the X-wing back up from the spot on the floor her friend had just placed it on and moved it back. “Well maaayybe this X-wing pilot likes to leave it up here!”</p><p>“I don’t think-”</p><p>“Uncle Ani!” Rey exclaimed, finally looking up to see her uncle towering over them, watching in amusement. “Whadaya think of our building! Isn’t it sooo cool?”</p><p>Anakin chuckled, “Sure is. You kids did a great job. And now that you’re all done, why don’t you go wash your hands so we can have dinner.”</p><p>“Food!!!” Poe cheered as Rey jumped up and bolted to the refresher, the older boy following quickly after.</p><p>Anakin laughed to himself. Seeing these younglings run around and play made Anakin really feel his age. But they also brought back old memories to when his own children were merely small balls of energy, constantly chasing each other around until they passed out on Anakin's lap. Now they were fully grown adults, one a highly acclaimed senator and the other a brilliant pilot for the Republic, both now parents of their own.</p><p>Anakin’s grandson, Ben, had outgrown the days where he wanted to spend every waking moment with his grandfather (too quickly for Anakin’s liking) but he was still proud of him nonetheless. Although the young teenager was currently in the stage where it seemed that signature Skywalker temper and brooding nature were at their most prominent, he was at the top of all his classes and possessed great abilities within the Force.</p><p>Even at the age of six, Rey seemed to possess this same strength. Upon discovering Anakin had an orphaned niece, Luke and his husband, Wedge, were quick to step up and become her guardians. Rey was the happiest little girl Anakin had ever met, always so full of energy and had a never ending sense of curiosity, making it easy for Anakin to accept her as one of his grandchildren.</p><p>So whenever his children and their friends had any meetings or dinner parties to attend, Anakin was put on babysitting duty. Today, Rey had asked if she could invite along her best friends with eyes so wide, Anakin could never refuse.</p><p>Poe, the son of Luke and Leia’s good friends, Shara and Kes, was a wondrous nine year old. He was a natural born leader who aspired to be a pilot, just like his mother, but was also known to be quite the troublemaker. So whenever Poe was caught causing trouble, Rey and Finn were likely to follow behind.</p><p>Anakin had to admit, he didn’t know much about Finn. He and his older sister and guardian, Jannah, were new to Coruscant, having moved from the Outer Rim only a little over a year ago in pursuit of a new life. Jannah, being a part-time student, part-time employee at a local animal shelter, was busy most days of the week, meaning that Finn was often babysat by the Skywalkers or Damerons, however Anakin himself had only met the boy a handful of times. The seven year old was quite quiet and shy, especially in comparison to his loud best friends, but had a good heart.</p><p>Speaking of, Anakin wondered where Finn was. He could’ve sworn the boy was playing with Rey and Poe while Anakin was cooking their meal.</p><p>Anakin scanned the room, beginning to grow nervous, when his eyes drifted past the Endor play-set. There, the little boy was seated on the floor, engrossed in his drawing, rushing to colour in every blank space on the page he had laid out in front of him. Anakin stepped over the miniature moon planet to crouch down next to Finn.</p><p>“Hey, buddy. It’s dinner time.”</p><p>Finn looked up in surprise. “Oh, hi Mr. Skywalker. Just wanted to finish. Sorry.”</p><p>“No worries. Can I see?” Anakin asked patiently.</p><p>Finn seemed hesitant, but handed the colourful piece of paper to the older man anyway. “I made it for Rey and Poe,” he said nervously, looking down at the floor.</p><p>Anakin admired the drawing. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, probably just simple stick figures, but this drawing was genuinely beautiful. Finn had taken the time to carefully draw each of his friends’ smiling faces in pencil before colouring them in with marker. Luke and Leia had never possessed such talent or dedication at this age. Hell, Anakin himself had never had any artist bone in his body, especially at his ripe old age. Finn, however, quite obviously did at only seven years old. It was incredible.</p><p>“They’re my best friends,” Finn added, as if Anakin wasn’t already well aware from all of Rey’s stories of the adventures the three younglings would share, along with all the effort that had been put into this drawing he held in hands.</p><p>“This is beautiful, Finn,” Anakin told the boy, handing the paper back. Seeing Finn’s face instantly light up made Anakin’s heart melt.</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Really,” Anakin reassured him. “Now why don’t you wash up so you can join us at the dinner table?”</p><p>Finn nodded excitedly, tucked the picture into the pocket of his vest, then dashed to the refresher.</p><p>Anakin returned to the kitchen where Poe and Rey were already gathered around at the far end of the room, this time arguing about weapons of all things as they waited.</p><p>“My papi uses a blaster and he can shoot really, really far!”</p><p>“Yeah? Well, Luke can use a lightsaber! He can do flips and twirls and one day he’s gonna teach me! Right, Uncle Ani?”</p><p>“Hey, don’t bring me into this,” Anakin said and Poe began to laugh at Rey’s frustrated scowl.</p><p>“Mr. Skywalker?” Finn asked, walking into the kitchen and squeezing into the seat between Rey and Poe. “What are we eating?”</p><p>"Great question," Anakin grinned. "Today, I have prepared for us… drumroll please!"</p><p>All the younglings began drumming the table edge with their fingers as Anakin dished out their meals.</p><p>"Ronto stew!"</p><p>Finn bounced in his seat with excitement, Poe cheered (as he always did whenever there was food nearby), and Rey squealed.</p><p>"Uncle Ani makes the best stew in the whole galaxy!" Rey exclaimed, beaming with excitement.</p><p>"Uh huh," Poe agreed. "Even my mami and papi use his recipe!"</p><p>"Thank you, kids. That means a lot to me," Anakin said with a smile. The younglings' joy was contagious. "My mother taught me to make it, except she would make it with bantha meat."</p><p>Anakin finished dishing out the stew into four separate bowls and he and Poe handed them out to each person. They all sat at the table in comfortable silence, Anakin and Finn happily eating their meals while Poe and Rey scarfed down theirs. Anakin had to tell them with a chuckle to <i>please slow down, younglings, the rontos aren't going anywhere.</i></p><p>Anakin got up to help the kids get their second helpings of food when Finn appeared beside him and tugged on his sleeve. "Mr. Skywalker?"</p><p>"Yes, Finn?" answered Anakin as he took the bowl from the boy's hands, refilling it with more stew.</p><p>"What was your mother like? The one who taught you to make this?"</p><p>Anakin walked back to his seat, Finn trailing behind him, and both of them sat down before Anakin responded. "She was the best. She, well, lived a very hard life," Anakin said, not wanting to get into the harsh details (no youngling should have to hear it, much less live it), "but she was so brave. Always so courageous and hard working. And kind. I've never known anyone with a kinder heart. She used to tell me how important it was to help others." </p><p><i>I wish I had had the chance to help her more,</i> Anakin didn't say.</p><p>"Why do you ask?" Anakin questioned the boy, reeling himself out of his memories.</p><p>Finn tried his best to act nonchalant, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. "I just wanted to know. Uh, was she a Jedi too?"</p><p>Anakin frowned, confused. What had brought this up? "No, no Jedi lived out as far as Tatooine."</p><p>"Uncle Ani's not a Jedi no more," Rey said knowingly, jumping out of her chair to climb onto her uncle's lap. "Even though he used to be the best of them all. Right?"</p><p>Anakin laughed, unconsciously combing the young girl's hair through his fingers. "No, no. Far from it, actually. I was very strong in the Force for my age, or at least that's what they told me, but I wasn't very good at following the rules." </p><p>"I never follow the rules!" Poe exclaimed, puffing up his chest proudly. "Except mami and papi's. 'Cause if I don't, they said they'd take away all my toys for a whole month!"</p><p>"Yes, Poe's right. You always have to listen to your parents and older siblings, you hear that?" Anakin told his young audience, who all nodded in understanding. Gods, if his old master were here, Anakin would never hear the end of it.</p><p>"But what's a Force?" Finn asked aloud, a puzzled look on his small, adorable face.</p><p>Anakin paused, pondering just how to simplify this otherworldly concept to such a young child when Rey started to say, "Ooh, ooh, I know!"</p><p>"Yes, Rey, what is the Force?" Anakin asked, genuinely curious to know how she would answer.</p><p>"It's what makes up all living things. It's in you, me, this bowl, everything! It holds us all together, it even holds together the entire galaxy!" Rey explained with an excited giggle. "And some people, they can use the Force, like me and Uncle Ani and Luke and the Jedi. We can move things and sense things, but really, we're the same as everyone else."</p><p>Poe and Finn's eyes were both wide with awe, the two boys holding each other's hands to help calm themselves down. </p><p>"Can I see, Rey? Pretty please?" Poe asked enthusiastically.</p><p>Rey nodded and closed her eyes. Well, more like squeezing them shut as she began to concentrate deeply. After a few moments, Poe's spoon rose and slowly twirled in the air. Poe, unable to contain his eagerness, reached up and plucked it out of mid-air, shouting "huzzah!!" as he did so. Rey's eyes flew open with a beaming smile. Anakin politely clapped and he could see the corners of Finn's mouth begin to raise.</p><p>"Very good job, Rey. Did Luke teach you that?" Anakin inquired, kissing her cheek.</p><p>"Uh huh. And he told me you taught him!" </p><p>Anakin definitely did not grin to himself at these words.</p><p>He had the best kids in the galaxy.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>It was while cleaning up that something truly remarkable happened.</p><p>Okay, maybe it was remarkable in itself that a group of younglings were eager to help clean up anything. However, as Anakin has noticed over the past couple years, Rey had a never ending fascination with water. Anakin couldn’t help but think of his younger self upon seeing Rey in awe at a functioning faucet, much less a swimming pool or lake, since both of them had come from dry desert planets. </p><p>And as it seemed to be the case with this trio, time and time again, whenever one member got excited about anything, the rest followed.</p><p>Hence why when Anakin informed the younglings it was time to do the dishes, Rey immediately claimed that she was on rinsing duty, with Finn and Poe deciding to help with drying and sorting quickly afterwards.</p><p>Of course the novelty eventually wore off, resulting in the boys slapping each other with their dish rags and Rey somehow getting the whole front of her shirt soaking wet. </p><p>“Okay, okay, younglings,” Anakin told them after giving them a few minutes of fun, “if you aren’t going to help, I think it’s best if you go do something else instead.”</p><p>“Are you sure, Mr. Skywalker?” Poe asked with big eyes as Rey said, “But, Uncle Ani-“</p><p>“It’s alright, I’ll finish it off from here. Hey, why don’t you go pick a holomovie for us to watch instead?” Anakin suggested.</p><p>There was definitely no hesitation this time as Rey and Poe raced out to the living room, lightly shoving one another to get through the doorway.</p><p>“You can go too, Finn,” Anakin told the boy, making sure not to forget him this time.</p><p>“Nah, I can help. They’re gonna take soooo long to choose. Boring! Makes this funner,” proclaimed Finn, stepping onto the stool beside Anakin that Rey previously stood on and began lightly scrubbing the soap suds off the bowl in front of him. “My sister says I’m the best at dishes.”</p><p>Anakin smiled. His mother used to say the same to him. “Do you help her often?”</p><p>“Yeah, ‘cause she’s got nobody else,” Finn said, neither in a sad or happy tone. The way he said it like it was a fact made Anakin’s smile fade.</p><p>They worked in silence, the sounds of Rey and Poe once again arguing filling the background. Anakin only had the large pot left to wash when he looked down at his sponge and realized just how covered in stew it was. He placed it down on the side of the sink and nudged the youngling beside him.</p><p>“Hey, could you please get me a new sponge? There’s a package of them in the cupboards over there.” Finn followed to where Anakin pointed his finger while Anakin rinsed the remaining dishes on Finn’s side of the sink.</p><p>“Got it, bud?” Anakin asked, to which he heard Finn respond “uh huh” from behind his back. The sponge floated over to Anakin and he grabbed it, starting on the pot.</p><p>Wait. <i>What?</i></p><p>Anakin looked at the sponge in his hands. The magical sponge that had just been magically floating through the air. Rey wasn’t in the room and Anakin sure hadn’t done it himself…</p><p>His eyes landed on the little boy reaching up to put the spoons away in the drawer. </p><p>Finn had done it. Of <i>course!</i> </p><p>
  <i>Finn had the Force. </i>
</p><p>Did he even know he possessed such a gift?</p><p>Anakin placed the forgotten pot in the drying rack and emptied the sinks. He walked over to where Finn stood and took the spoons from his hands, kneeling down in front of him so they were both at eye level.</p><p>“Finn, can you do something else for me?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Close your eyes,” Anakin told him, to which Finn did without question but looking slightly tensed.</p><p>Anakin put his hands on his small shoulders. “Relax. Let your body relax. Focus on the sounds, smells, everything around you.”</p><p>Finn did so, his soft face looking calm yet concentrated.</p><p>“Good, good. Now I’m holding a spoon in front of you. Without opening your eyes, imagine it. Do you see it?”</p><p>“I think so?”</p><p>“Imagine it… like you’re about to draw it. Picture it in your mind, okay? Now, can you see it?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Great job. Now imagine it lifting out of my hands and into the air, all by itself.”</p><p>Finn’s closed eyes began squeezing in a frustration. “I-I can’t!”</p><p>“Yes, you can,” Anakin reassured him. “Breathe. In and out. Now try again.”</p><p>Suddenly, one of the spoons made its way out of Anakin’s grip and raised in the air, floating all on its own. Then, a second spoon lifted up, twirling mid-air. Then another. Soon, there were four silver spoons, all floating at different points in the air right in front of his eyes.</p><p>“Remarkable,” Anakin breathed. He nudged Finn. “You can open your eyes now.”</p><p>Finn’s eyelids opened up and he stared at the sight in front of them. </p><p>“Woahhh,” he said softly, then looked over at Anakin, still in a daze. “D-Did I do that?”</p><p>“You sure did.”</p><p>“Woah,” Finn said again.</p><p>Anakin held back a laugh. “Did you know you could use the Force?”</p><p>“No-” Finn began then stopped. He looked puzzled, like the lightbulb just couldn’t seem to light. Then it clicked. “Actually, yeah. I think I did.”</p><p>He turned his attention from the spoons, which had floated neatly back down to the ground, to Anakin once again, this time looking serious beyond his years.</p><p>“Am I… Am I like Rey and her dad and you? A Jedi?”</p><p>Anakin reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly. “Well, you don’t have to become a Jedi, but you have great potential, young one. And with patience and some training, I know you will become a very powerful Force user.”</p><p>Finn gasped and a smile broke out on his face. </p><p>Suddenly, Anakin was enveloped in a hug, the little boy's arms wrapping around him tightly. He could feel the warm glow from Finn radiating off of him through the Force.</p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Skywalker.”</p><p>“Of course, Finn. You deserve it.”</p><p>“UNCLE ANI, WE’RE READY!”</p><p>Anakin smiled into Finn’s small shoulder and patted him on the back once more for reassurance, before standing up and taking his hand in his, guiding the two of them out of the kitchen.</p><p>Rey emerged from a large pile of holomovie discs, her shirt thankfully dried but her hair somehow incredibly askew, pointing every which way and barely even forming any buns anymore. She proudly held out a DVD in her hands. “We chose to watch ‘How to Train Your Tooka!’”</p><p>“No, we didn’t!” Poe said, suddenly appearing beside her from god knows where. “We said we’re gonna watch ‘The Little Mon Calamari!’”</p><p>Anakin let out an exaggerated sigh, trying his best to hide his amusement. He could never really be frustrated with these kids, no matter how much a mess they made or hairs of his they turned grey. That was what grandkids were for after all. </p><p>Still, he didn't think he had the energy to deal with this tonight.</p><p>“How about we let Finn decide tonight, okay?”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>(The next morning, Anakin awoke to aching muscles and a ringing comm, alerting him he had new messages awaiting him. </p><p>They were photos from Luke. Photos of Anakin and the trio of younglings, passed out in the living room, little Rey with drool pooling out of her mouth and her feet in Poe’s scrunched up face, Poe’s fingers entwined with Finn’s, and Finn’s head resting against Anakin’s arm. </p><p>Anakin messaged his son back, demanding he delete the photographs, proclaiming that his hair looked awful in them and Luke, ever the devil, responded with simply a <i>:P</i></p><p>Secretly though, Anakin saved these photos onto his datapad, right next to the one he took of Finn’s drawing so he could see their smiling faces whenever he pleased.)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Baby Poe to baby Rey: I think <i>I</i> know more about X-Wings than <i>you</i> do.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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